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118th Utah Women’s State Amateur: Meet the Quarterfinalists

At one extreme of the scoreboard, Grace Summerhays played only 26 holes in two matches Thursday and Ali Mulhall needed just 27 holes to overcome her opponents.

Ali Mulhall and Grace Summerhays survey the No.18 green during stroke play qualifying at TalonsCove GC.

And then there was Leighton Shosted, a collegiate veteran who went into extra holes with each of her high school opponents, working a total of 39 holes in advancing to the quarterfinals of the 118th Utah State Women’s Amateur Championship at TalonsCove Golf Club in Saratoga Springs.

The bracket went mostly according to the seeding for the first two rounds of match play. No. 21 seed Kareen Larson, TalonsCove’s General Manager, posted the only official upset of the round of 32, before losing to 2020 champion Grace Summerhays in the afternoon. Five-time winner Kelsey Chugg also advanced; so did Sydney Richards, a cousin of Summerhays. The pairings are Mulhall vs. Shosted, Kate Walker vs. Summerhays, Jenna Anderson vs. Chugg and Faith Vui vs. Sydney Richards. The semifinals will follow in the afternoon; the 18-hole final match is scheduled Saturday morning.

A look at Friday’s quarterfinalists:

Ali Mulhall

A highly accomplished junior golfer, Mulhall is making the most of her first Women’s State Am appearance. After sharing medalist honors with a 7-under-par 65 in Wednesday’s qualifying round, she looked every bit like a No. 1 seed in her two matches.

Mulhall already owns a Utah Golf Association title this year, having joined her younger sister, Molli, to dominate the Women’s Spring Open in St. George. She missed an opportunity to win the UGA’s Mary Lou Baker Open in early July at Glenmoor Golf Club, though, after holding the lead midway through the final round.

Leighton Shosted

Shosted, a former Utah Valley University golfer, made winning the Idaho Women’s Amateur look easy a couple of weeks ago.She ran away with that 54-hole, stroke-play event by 10 shots. Reaching the quarterfinals at TalonsCove was another story.

Kaylee Westfall of Orem High School and Natalie Mclane of Herriman extended Shosted to 20 and 19 holes, respectively. Shosted, who went from UVU to Grand Canyon University and is now transferring to Tennessee, was proud of the way she responded to those challenges.

“I think when I’m put under that pressure, I feel like I can make things happen when I need to,” she said.

Kate Walker

The winner of the Utah Junior Golf Association’s Fairways Preview at TalonsCove in June, Walker is the only high school golfer in the quarterfinals. She plays for Crimson Cliffs, the school that also has produced junior stars Boston Bracken and Lincoln Markham.

As the No. 13 seed, Walker produced the most surprising result of the round of 16, a 5-and-4 defeat of Utah Valley University’s Pati Uluave.

Grace Summerhays

Competing in the Women’s State Am for the sixth time in seven years, Summerhays was hardly tested in her two matches. The Arizona State golfer’s road to her fourth final match in her last five appearances undoubtedly will get tougher, perhaps including a semifinal meeting with Mulhall.

Summerhays lost to Tess Blair last summer in the finals at Jeremy Ranch Golf & Country Club; Blair is not entered this year.

Jenna Anderson

Four members of the Utah Tech University team made the round of 16. Anderson is the only Trailblazer still playing. That’s partly because she beat teammate Samantha Phelan with a tap-in birdie on the 19th hole, the par-5 No. 1. Jane Olson and Mia Cesarek also were eliminated.

Anderson had looked ahead in the bracket. “It was exciting to know that I might get to play with (Phelan). It kind of brings a little peace or relaxation because it’s somebody you know and you’re comfortable with,” Anderson said. “But it’s really fun to compete with her as well. It’s just like we’re back in (team) qualifying.”

Anderson, who’s from Wisconsin, lost No. 18 before quickly regrouping. “I just needed to take a breath … not getting down on myself, knowing that I was still in it,” she said.

Kelsey Chugg

After being upset by Olson in last year’s quarterfinals, Chugg is back at this stage and looking solid, as shown by a 5-and-4 win over Arden Louchheim, a former Rowland Hall star who plays for Nebraska. Chugg owns a phenomenal 53-12 match-play record, between the Women’s State Am and the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur.

Faith Vui

Viu is the lowest remaining seed (No. 14) in the bracket, but hardly a surprise.The resident of Samoa won the New Zealand Women’s Amateur in November after making the Women’s State Am quarterfinals last summer at Jeremy Ranch Golf & Country Club.

Vui, whose sister lives in nearby Eagle Mountain, effectively closed out her match vs. Cesarek in the round of 16 by driving the green of the par-4 No. 16 and making an eagle.

Sydney Richards

Richards is a granddaughter of Lynn Summerhays, making her a cousin of Utah State Amateur champions Grace and Preston Summerhays and a niece of famous golf figures Boyd and Daniel Summerhays.

A graduate of Farmington High School, Richards plays for Southern Virginia University. She delivered a clutch bunker shot on No. 18, tying the hole with a par for a 1-up win over Lone Peak High’s Saydie Wagner in the round of 16 after losing the par-3 No. 17.

Utah Women’s State Amateur day two coverage provided by Fairways Media senor writer Kurt Kragthorpe, art director Garrit Johnson and publisher Randy Dodson.